Indian political parties urged to include TB control in election manifestos

The Partnership for TB Care and Control in India (PTCC) Tuesday urged Indian political parties to include tuberculosis (TB) control as a critical public health issue in their election manifestos. The partnership in run-up to India's general elections has approached all Indian political parties including Indian National Congress and right wing Bharatiya Janata Party to seek their attention to the scale of TB problem in India. "With elections less than three months away, this is the right time for parties to signal their priorities and we believe that public health should be one of them," said Dr. S N Misra, chairman of PTCC. "If we are to win the fight against TB and ensure universal access to high quality TB diagnosis and treatment, we need the commitment and active support of all political parties." PTCC is a coalition of over 170 organizations in India striving to support and strengthen India's national TB control efforts. PTCC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Vianca told Xinhua they have sent letters and emails to all leading political parties to seek their support. India has the highest burden of TB in the world, accounting for approximately one-fifth of the global incidence -- an estimated 2 million cases annually. TB kills about 30,000 Indians every year. Despite being curable and preventable, experts said it causes significant morbidity and mortality, which is a cause of serious concern. A person suffering from TB can infect 10 to 15 people in a year. The move by PTCC is aimed at generating political will and commitment within the incumbent and future governments to ensure TB is rooted out from India. "This is especially vital given the increasing number of drug- resistant cases in the country," Misra said. It is estimated that about 40 percent of the Indian population is infected with TB bacteria, the vast majority of whom have latent rather than active TB disease. Improper treatment of TB leads to a drug resistant form of TB -- Multidrug-resistant (MDR) or Extensively drug resistant (XDR). The Indian government has said it was doing all within its reach to improve diagnoses and treatment of TB in the country. India Health Minister Ghulam Nanbi Azad said that under the Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP), quality diagnosis and anti-tuberculosis drugs are provided free of cost to the patients. Experts said TB causes individual suffering, extensive economic losses as well as family and community suffering. According to PTCC, the direct and indirect costs of TB in India stand at 23.7 billion U.S. dollars annually. The WHO TB Report 2013 said globally there are 2.9 million missed cases (either not diagnosed, or diagnosed but not reported to the national TB programs). Of these, 31 percent are estimated to be in India.